Alligators, andoullie sausage and art are all part of Cajun Clay Night Saturday evening at the Carbondale Clay Center.

As many as 300 people are expected to stop by the Clay Center fund-raiser, pick out a handcrafted bowl, fill it with gumbo, eat some cake, listen to live music, and then take the bowl home as a gift.

Cajun Clay Night, like most events in Carbondale, is one-of-a-kind.

“The cake and the bowls are what make it unique,” said Linda Criswell, event coordinator at the Clay Center.

After the gumbo, the crowd gets a shot at a slice of giant alligator cake.

“It’s as big as an alligator,” said Criswell of the cake. “It’s kind of a high point of the evening.”

The cake is baked in sections by local artists. The sections are then put together and shaped and frosted to look like an alligator, she said.

In addition to the bowls and cake, visitors get to bid on silent auctions items and enjoy appetizers from local restaurants, said Criswell.

This is the sixth year for Cajun Clay night, and the community has supported the event more and more each year, said Diane Kenney, the center’s director.

Cajun Clay Night is becoming a rite of spring, and more well-known each year, she said.

“People have called us the Cajun Clay Center, but really we’re the Carbondale Clay Center,” she said.

Contact Ryan Graff: 945-8515, ext. 520

rgraff@postindependent.com